EDINBURGH’s players would be forgiven for wishing a demoralising season could come to an end straight away, but instead the fixture list has thrown up two remaining matches which have given them something to play for. Their final game is a week on Saturday away to Glasgow, when the keen local rivalry and the urge to fight for places on the Scotland tour should ensure they are up for the fight. Before that, there is their last home game of the campaign against the Dragons, who are now just two points behind them in 10th place in the PRO12.
“I think their coach has been talking about this being a big game for them,” Edinburgh winger Rory Scholes said of the forthcoming match against the Welsh team. “We don’t want them to overtake us - we want to stay above them going into the derby game against Glasgow.”
If Edinburgh lose it will be their 10th consecutive defeat, and Scholes admitted that the longer the losing run has gone on, the more difficult it has become for the squad to regain their confidence and discover the winning style that took them to good wins earlier in the season over the likes of Harlequins and Stade Francais. “I think it does get harder. There has been some good stuff in there at times, but we've compounded that by making too many errors.
“We probably haven't reacted well enough individually or as a team to those errors and that's led to another [defeat] and another. Teams get on top of you and it's hard to get out as you're playing against quality opposition. Boys can get frustrated, but there are times when we’re confident and we do some really good stuff. We know the things we can do are good and can lead to wins, so there is belief and confidence in the squad.
“The focus now is on better performances and picking up a win or two. People might not think it, but there’s still a lot for us to play for. Next year we have a new coach coming in and there are boys going for international honours, so there is motivation there.”
Friday night’s game is not only the last home fixture of the season, but also the last to be held at Myreside under the short-term agreement between Edinburgh, ground owners George Watson’s College and local residents. As things stand the plan is to continue playing home games there next season, and Scholes said that, while the players were fairly pleased at the atmosphere there, they knew it could get a whole lot better if they went on a decent winning run.
“It's been pretty good - we've enjoyed the atmosphere with the fans being a bit closer. We would obviously liked to have won more games there, which would have made the feeling better and maybe got more fans to come.
“We don't know what's going to happen beyond the trial period. We just continue as normal and try to get a win.”
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